About Rose Levy Beranbaum:

Best known as the author of The Cake Bible, the book that brought rigorous ingredient science to bakers everywhere, while also celebrating the benefits of measuring by weight in grams instead of volume. The Cake Bible also introduced the reverse-creaming/2-stage method using room temperature butter versus the traditional creaming butter and sugar method. Her 14 mostly baking-related cookbooks have made her an authority on baking for home bakers, and during the evolving golden age of food, was noted by chefs as “the baking chef to the chefs.” She has been called the “diva queen of dessert baking”. Rose has been awarded 6 James Beard Foundation awards including “Cookbook Hall of Fame.” Other awards include the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professional) “Hall of Fame.” 

This candid memoir gives readers a front-row seat to the inner life of one of America’s most consequential baking figures, and it will especially reward anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to turn obsessive precision into a career. Here, she turns that exactness on her own life: a food-adverse child in postwar 1950’s New York who grew into a baker so meticulous that she designed her own kitchen equipment when nothing on the market met her standards. 

This book is dense with encounters and crossed paths with Julia Child, Martha Stewart, James Beard, Jacques Pepin, Chris Kimball, Dorie Greenspan, and many others. She does not flatter indiscriminately, and does not withhold her own frustrations either. Several people whose careers were inspired by Rose’s books are featured. The book includes “time line” information boxes not only to connect a person, an event, or an observation to Rose’s life story, but also to anchor the reader to their own experiences. The result reads less like a victory lap and more like an honest account of what persistence in a demanding field actually costs and how it rewards. 

There are fifteen recipes highlighting Rose’s innovative and revolutionary techniques including the reverse creaming method and using a food processor for making perfect foolproof ganache. This memoir is a story, carried by Beranbaum’s hard-won expertise and her sharp, sometimes unexpectedly funny voice. 

About Les Dames d’Escoffier International Philadelphia:

Les Dames d’Escoffier is a world-wide 501(c)3 non-profit philanthropic society of professional women who are leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage, and hospitality. The Philadelphia Chapter is made up of a diverse group of chefs, winemakers, restaurateurs, writers, food artisans, and many other food professionals dedicated to giving back to their community. Our mission is to recognize and champion women in culinary fields and support the next generation through mentorship and scholarship. Learn more here.